A Note from the School of Music

KC’s Corner

For most of my childhood and early teens, I wanted – more than anything – to be a doctor.  I read every book I could get my hands on about Elizabeth Blackwell, begged my parents for chemistry sets and stethoscopes, and when I was finally old enough to volunteer in our local hospital (some of you may remember that job as a “candy striper”), I was prepared for the best summer of my life and all that I would learn.  Well, I did indeed learn a lot that summer…most importantly that I definitely did not want to be a doctor!

I come from a family of teachers. I am the youngest of four children and we have all taught public school yet somehow, it seems that I kind of stumbled into the teaching profession rather than ran toward it with full force.  My love for medicine was quickly replaced by my love for music, I had fantastic 9th-12th grade music teachers who had me teaching and conducting early on, and my not-so-positive relationship with AP Chemistry, combined with my passion for AP Music Theory, solidified the fact that music was going to be my profession.  That love, mixed with meeting the fantastic new clarinet professor in my home state’s flagship School of Music and the full scholarship I won to be an education major and then teach in the NC public schools sealed the deal.  A series of fortunate events changed my life, the lives of thousands of children, and led me to this fantastic community here in Utah.  This year wraps up my 29th year as an educator and/or education administrator, and I have never regretted the path my feet were chosen to walk.

As I have said to hundreds of collegiate music education majors, there are two jobs that are the most important in this world:  parent and teacher.  Nearly 30 years later, I still believe that is true. 

Whether singing to an infant in my arms while teaching my first-year music education students about child development, watching a middle schooler make their very first sound on the trumpet, celebrating the magic of making music with a child whose physical impairment and the systems around that have never let them participate in a drum circle, watching a student teacher transition from my student to my colleague right in front of my eyes, listening to my own daughter unpack her day as a 7th grade science teacher or observing one of our incredibly talented professors guide the next generation of music scholars right here in our building, I believe strongly in the power of education.

As educators, we have a transformative role in moving our students from what they don’t even imagine knowing to soaring without us. At the end of this academic year, we find ourselves bidding a fond farewell to Dr. Mark Ely, a beloved and respected colleague, saxophonist, and teacher educator who has changed music and education in our state for decades.  Dr. Emily Mercado shared the following about Mark in the application for his well-deserved Emeritus status:

I was fortunate to be at the meeting where Dr. Ely was inducted into the UMEA Hall of Fame this past February and watch colleagues and alumni from across the state respond to the prompts, “Please stand if Dr. Mark Ely has made a difference in your life,” and, “Please stand if the people who are standing have made a difference in your life.”  Watching a room filled with people standing to honor a teacher and musician who has given so freely of himself was a beautiful tribute to all that teaching truly is.  What more can a teacher ask for than to know that they have made such a positive difference in this world?

As author Judy Blume stated, “Our fingerprints don't fade from the lives we touch.”  This is certainly true of Dr. Ely and all of us here in the School of Music who work tirelessly at educating and supporting our students.  Happy Retirement, Dr. Ely!  Thank you, thank you for sharing your gifts with us, for teaching us all even as you continued to learn, and for bringing the joy of music to thousands of children.  You have left your “fingerprints” all over the School of Music and our lives are better for knowing you.

 Kim Councill
Director of the School of Music 

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